Daily Weight Training Exercises as Part of a Comprehensive Workout Program

We have now entered day 4 of the PHUL workout program, which means that we have officially left the strength/power domain and entered hypertrophy training. The main goal of hypertrophy training is to build and tone muscle. Hypertrophy literally means the increase in volume of a muscle tissue. So, as inferred from the definition, that is what today's and tomorrow's workouts will focus on. Quite the opposite of strength and power training, hypertrophy training will focus on lifting lower amounts of weight at a lower 1RM percentage, but increasing the reps. Repeated repetitions means repeated contractions and repeated stress on the tissues. This will force the muscle tissue to grow, and help us achieve the results we want by engaging in hypertrophy style training. Day 4 - Upper Body Hypertrophy Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Dumbbell Pectoral Fly - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% of 1RM Seated Cable Row - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps @ 50-60% o...

Well now it's Wednesday, Day 3 of the PHUL workout plan. By now, you're probably feeling the DOMS. DOMS is an acronym that stands for 'delayed onset muscle soreness'. What that basically means is that your body will start to feel the full soreness and tiredness of a workout 48-72 hours, or 2-3 days, after a workout.  So especially if you're new to the program, you might be feeling pretty tired today from Monday's workout. If that's the case, it is vital that you give your body today to rest, re-hydrate and refuel so that you can come back strong in tomorrow's workout. It does no good to burn yourself out when your body is in desperate need of a day off. You will not have a quality workout if you force your body to over-perform in a depleted state.  However, if you are not new to the program or to weight training in general, your body might be adapted to the point that you may feel pretty good today. If that is the case, you can do something called...

Today is Tuesday, which means it's time for the second workout of the week, the lower body power workout. Just like yesterday's workout, today's workout will focus on increasing strength and power, this time in the lower body. This means that we will keep the number of reps low, and the amount of weight high. Remember that the % 1RM values mean "percentage of one rep maximum", or a certain percentage of the amount of weight you are only able to lift for one repetition. Tuesday - Lower Body Power Back Squat - 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps @75-85% 1RM Deadlift - 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps @75-85% 1RM Leg Press - 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps @70-75% 1RM Leg Curl - 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps @70-75% 1RM Seated Calf Raise - 3 sets of 10-12 reps @65-75% 1RM Back Extension Machine - 3 sets of 10-12 reps @65-75% 1RM Once again, if you would like to add some abdominal exercises, that is an option. However, these should be done at the end of the workout when all the multijoint exercises ...

Today, Monday, will be the first day of the PHUL workout program. The workout today will focus on the upper body. It will be a power workout, which means the goal is to increase power and strength rather than size. As such, we will keep the rep ranges low and the weights high. You will see the term "% 1RM" not just in this blog but in the others this week as well. This refers to the percentage of your one rep maximum for that exercise. In other words, take the amount of weight that you can lift for a single rep, multiply it by the percentage, and lift that weight for the amount of sets and reps specified. For example, if your bench press maximum was 200 pounds and you wanted to do 3 sets of 6 at 70% 1RM, you would multiply 200 by 0.7 and get 140 pounds as the weight. Monday - Upper Body Power Bench Press - 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps @ 75-85% 1RM Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps @75% 1RM Bent Over Row - 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps @ 75% 1RM Lat Pulldown - 3-4 se...

Hello and welcome to my blog! In the following five blog entries, one posted daily from Monday through Friday, I will give a description of a different workout routine for each day. These workout routines will be part of a comprehensive workout program which you can use to gain both strength and size and become more physically fit. The program that I will be detailing further and further with each post is called a PHUL program. PHUL stands for: Power, Hypertrophy, Upper, Lower. But what does all this mean? Well, the first two letters, P and H, describe two different strength training goals that the corresponding exercises will help you achieve. The next two letters, U and L, describe the two parts of the body that the program will help you strengthen; your upper body and your lower body. As the week goes on, I will go into more detail about what the goals of the program are, how to progressively overload your body as the weeks go on if you choose to follow this program, and the b...